The Children of Grail
by SillyCurse
Summary: 21 years ago, a threat rose in the north, and a guild was created to silence this evil. Now, the guild Holy Grail is an official guild, and one slowly growing in it's popularity. Join Danika as she struggles to overcome her own insecurities, Joseph as he tries to make a name for himself, and the enigma Randuin as he carries out his Master's wishes. Pre-Tartarus arc (Accepting OC's)
1. Team Harmony!

Holy Grail

Chapter 1

Within the kingdom of Fiore, to the north of Crocus, lay a small town by the name of Sylvein. With a modest population of five thousand people, it specializes in the mining and selling of rare minerals, such as topaz and amethyst. It is also the chief producer of common day lacrima, such as warmth and vision. However, it is quite a desolate place to live, for it is situated on the base of Mt. Korai, a magic rich volcano. It is from the excrement of the mountain that they make their famous lacrima, as well as the mining place for their treasured jewels. For a very long time, the citizens of Sylvein would have to leave on the seventh of July, when the lava would come pouring down the rocky mountainside, lest they be burned by the magmatic sludge.

That changed, however, fifteen years ago, when a Wizards guild by the name of Holy Grail made their Grand Hall in Sylvein. They had been warned against it, for the lava was much more treacherous to a guild hall, for they are expensive to remake. But the leader, a young women with pretty purple eyes just laughed, saying "Money isn't a problem." That year forward, they never had to leave their town again.

Said guild was built on the side of the mountain. To get to it from town requires a ten minute hike up the hillside, until you find a large treacherous outcrop, that gives you an amazing view of the town and beyond. From it you can see the mountain range to the east, the grand lakes to the west, and straight forward, you can see the grand desert, and in the very distant lands, a small bit of Crocus itself in the south.

Once upon this outcrop, you will see a small Iron doorway, which has the Holy Grail Mark upon its chest. Hanging over this doorway was an old and withered birch tree, whose bark was still pure and white despite its age. The symbol upon the door is that of a golden cup, a small amount of red liquid sloshing out of the right corner, held by two armored hands as if being lifted up above all men. The handles to this doorway are that of a sword, and to enter you must prick yourself with the blades.

Once that had been done the door will open to a small tunnel, until you come to the hall itself, a grand, Medieval/Tavern styled hall meant for much drinking and dancing and merriment. To the left is a long, iron table that spanned the entire distance from front to back, meant for large Guild entirety meals. To the right, there is a small bar with many smaller tables for different groups and teams to drink together between jobs and such.

In between these two sections is a long hallway with a ruby red carpet that leads down to a rather large board, filled with requests from people all over Fiore, who required assistance of the mystical variety. On either side of this board, the carpet continues over two spiral staircases, which lead up to the floor of accommodation and entertainment. To the left are the male lofts, and to the right the female, both ending at a small gender specific public bathing hall. If you were to go deeper into the mountain, you would find a rather large Arena-Esq. training facility, which is quite popular among the mages of Holy Grail. In fact, it is there that we meet two teenage wizards, who were currently having a rather heated brawl.

Danika

I jumped to avoid the large plume of smoke headed at me, spinning as I brought my hands together, focusing my strength into my magic. I landed on the ground with nothing but a soft plume of ash billowing around my feet indicating my fast decent. I turned to face Cy, smirking when I saw the look of aggravation taking over his bright lilac eyes.

_"Electron Overload!"_

I thrust my hands outwards, a hundred volts of electricity racing through the air, basking the marble arena in an electrifying yellow tint. The attack hit him straight on, but my eyes raised in shock when he turned into mist.

_"Smokescreen!"_

I jerked in surprise as I was enveloped in a thick cloud of putrid smelling smoke. As the fumes hit my nostrils I began to wheeze, and I barely managed to choke out my next incantation.

_"Electron Discharge!"_

Every electron upon my person and in the air flared in an instant of energy, dissipating the smoke that engulfed me. I began to move until I felt the cold tip of a blade against the nape of my neck. Even though I couldn't see it, in my mind's eye I could envision the sight of Cy panting, his brown hair matted and singed, perspiration covering his chocolate skin.

I then felt his smirk on my skin. "This," He began in his raspy voice. "Is the point when you say 'you win.'" I sighed, a scowl creeping upon my face as I internally berated myself for letting my guard down during his screen. I tried to think of a way to come out on top, but other than jolting his blade and hoping his grip doesn't neutralize the shock, I was fresh out of ideas.

"Fine," I growled out, "You win." I instantly felt the blade leave my neck, and out of irritation started rubbing the spot where it had touched. He began spinning the small blade, a dirk made of a rare material known as Darksteel, before throwing it in the air and pocketing it in his re-quip space. I suddenly heard clapping from up in the seating area, and turned to see Ni, the third member of our team, standing there with her face lit up in an angelic smile.

Ni, or Nissa Vando, was a close friend of mine, being the same age as myself at 19. We got along quickly when we first met each other at the guild, and we have been friends ever since. Nissa is 5'9, with an average bust, Olive skin and long slender legs. She has stormy grey eyes, and magenta hair that falls over her shoulders in waves. Unlike her other two team mates, her guild mark was visible at all times. She had her mark on the left side of her neck, in a deep blue. She was wearing her signature outfit, consisting of black Hunter boots, navy blue jeans, red rain jacket, and white parasol. This all came together to stay in theme with her magic, storm magic. It gave her the ability to call upon any storm you can think of, from a small flurry, to a freezing blizzard. The only problem is that when her emotions get the better of her, things get... well... rough. We were on a cargo liner once, tasked with protecting the rare artifacts on board, when she caused a tsunami to hit the nearby shores because Cy was making fun of her attire.

Speaking of Cy, I looked slightly behind me to see him smiling victoriously. His real name is Cynex, but he's told everyone to call him Cy. He's 6'6, and he packs a serious punch. He looks a bit like that Elfman fellow from fairytail, at least from the sorcerer weekly photo I saw. They both have that serious face, and muscles to boot. But Cynex goes for the less traditional style outfits. Right now, for example, he is wearing a grey turtleneck with white pants that had a silver chain hanging from the right pocket. Upon his feet he wears a pair of black suede shoes, and atop his head a brown band. His charcoal hair puffed out the top, leaving his cocoa face bare. His face was clear of blemishes, except for a small scar that zigzagged up his chin. His magic was smoke manipulation magic, allowing him to summon and contort smoke.

The last member of our team would be myself, Danika Roberro. I'm nothing special, 5 ft 8, small bust, short legs, awkwardly large torso, and averagely tan skin. I have blue eyes and auburn hair, and a splash of freckles that bedazzle my face. My usual outfit is inspired by Lucy Heartfilia of Fairytail. People always bash me about it, but, like, she's so cool! She has the best Celestial spirits out there, and she's so pretty! Plus, there are rumors going around that she has a thing with Natsu freaking Dragneel! Anyway, I'm wearing a white vest that has blue markings, a blue skirt, and black boots. The only thing I didn't add was Lucy's hair accessories, for I like to put my hair up into pigtails.

My outfit doesn't match my magic, but then again, I don't really like wearing yellow. My magic is, quite simply, electron magic. I am able to summon forth electrons from within my body, as well as control the ones around me in the air. My master, Juilliard, was even able to use the "inner lightning" (as he likes to call it) in other people to control them! But I'm not nearly there yet.

The three of us make up the team "Harmony," and together we have gotten into quite the series of shenanigans. Our name was made by a guild mate and close friend of Cy's, Willow, for she pointed out how well we work together. And I gotta say, I'm starting to get attached to the name.

"I see you two had some fun while I was gone," Nissa said, her childish voice ringing as she eyed the condition we were both in. We were both panting and sweating, and both of us were covered in ash and soot from a combination of smoke and spark.

"Well if you didn't go on a mission without us," Cy began, and I sighed knowing he was going to badger her about this for a while. But before he could continue, He noticed that Ni's eyes were glimmering, and I saw that a small cloud had formed over the whole arena.

"Shit!" I muttered, as I ran to get under one of the arches at the base of the arena. Cy jumped up to the public seating using his smoke, and started running towards Nissa to apologize, but he got there a few seconds too late. A large downpour erupted throughout the entire arena as Ni started bawling her eyes out, shouting strange apologies and pleads of forgiveness.

I guess I forgot to say she's really a drama queen as well. Doubled with the fact that her mood swings are incredible, and she's just a sensitive person to begin with, when she's sad, it's an all out mess. Cy was trying his best to calm her down, but even I have difficulty making her stop, so he was just wasting his time.

"Nissa please don't cry! I didn't mean it! I swear!" I heard him pleading with her, but that just made it worse.

"I MADE YOU HURT EACHOTHER! PLEASE DON'T HATE ME!" She screeched, bowing and crying and apologizing at the same time. I muttered a thing or two about getting Ni counseling before I jumped out of my cover into the freezing cold rain. Within seconds I was chilled to the bone, but I just gritted my teeth and used the electrons in the air to propel me over the arena's ledge and up the stairs towards my teammates.

I pushed Cy out of the way, and was about to start to try and calm her down, when suddenly the rain just stopped mid air. Nissa's face suddenly froze, and a look of perplextion spread across her face. I was confused until I saw that the arena doors were wide open, and three guild mates were standing at its entrance. "God dammit, not them," I said under my breath.

Before us stood the team known as Ghoul Hunter, and within its ranks stood one of Holy Grail's five S-Class wizards. From left to right, there was Maxis Roc, Stark Vando who was Ni's brother, and Silica Hustoff.

Maxis is 6'3 with a tan and lean, muscled build. He has Ivory hair that jumps out from his scalp, and his eyes were narrow and green. He adorns a dark black leather jacket and ripped jeans, with oak wood sandals on his feet. He specializes in a summoning magic known as _Spectrol_, and it allowes him to call upon different mages and heroes from ages past. His guild mark is midnight black, and it is on his right cheek.

Stark is 6'4, olive skinned like his sister, and although Cy won't admit it, more intimidating than himself. Although Stark is shorter, he managed to lift a Blizzardvern above his head, and then throw it over a cliff into an abyss before proceeding to aid in the defeat of an entire dark guild. He has his siblings magenta hair, but his eyes were hazel. He is wearing a spring themed plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up over a sky blue tank top. He also has blue jeans with the bottom cuffs rolled up and black flip flops. At the moment, he had his hand extended out, a magic circle present atop his fingers. His magic is moisture magic, which allows him to summon and control all kinds of liquids. He is one of the few people who can nullify Nissa's storms.

And finally, the S-Class mage Silica Hustoff. She is 6'1, and has got to be by far the most terrifying woman I have ever met. She has messy blonde hair that spikes up at the top, and deep red eyes that always seem to be narrowed in either anger or a sneer. She wears a large fur coat over her shoulders, its sleeves dangling by her side. Underneath she had a black suit of armor that has the Holy Grail mark etched into the chest. She was also dressed in a long black skirt, and thigh high black socks. Her steel toed black boots hugged her feet, and I know from first hand experience that she can make a blade pop out the front of them. Silica's magic is called _Adamantine, _and it allows her to make anything her skin comes to contact with indestructible. It also allows her to give any weapon she touches magical properties, such as fire and poison. But its strongest property is that it allowed herself to make her skin near impenetrable. She can also, if hand -to-hand combat was necessary, augment herself. This means she can make her attacks lighting fast, or smooth and agile as the wind.

Ni's face suddenly grew into a giant smile, and the clouds and the rain vanished without a trace. She suddenly flung herself at her brother. Not expecting this, he was tackled to the ground as they both slammed into the door.

"BRO BRO!" Nissa began squeezing the life out of her poor brother. His face was soon turning purple from lack of oxygen, and Maxis and Cy sweat dropped from the brother and sister antics. Stark finally managed to rasp out;

_"Moisture Take-Over!"_

He suddenly disappeared, causing Nissa to fall onto the marble floor. He then reappeared a couple meters away, panting worse than both myself and Cy.

"Damn Ni-Ni," Stark started rubbing his bright red neck. "Since when could you hug like that?" Nissa simply smirked, flexing her surprisingly large biceps for a girl so slender.

"Wittle bitty Ni-Ni has been training big brother." She then struck a glorious pose, causing both teams to sweat drop, Silica even looking a tad bemused. The S-Class wizard quickly shook her head, before sending a glare in my direction. It took everything I had to silence my squeak of terror.

Upon noticing my distress, a sly smile grew across her face, revealing her pearly whites. "Master Brauheist requires your presence in her office," She stated, her large and authoritative voice echoing slightly of the white walls. "And with the mood she's in, I don't suggest you keep her waiting." With her job complete, she headed for the door, Maxis quickly following. The summoner looked towards his last teammate, but Stark just shook his head.

"I'll catch up with you later." Maxis opened his mouth, but closed it after seeing that his friend had already left to talk with his sister. With a small growl the Ivory haired mage followed Silica, his mouth wording a curse towards the four of us.

Cy looked at the door for a while, before bluntly stating; "Who shoved a stick up his ass?" Stark chuckled lightly, but I just frowned. Even though I don't like Maxis and Silica that much, I didn't think it was proper to talk about them behind their backs.

"Be quiet Cy, Maxis is mad because he probably thinks we're stealing his teammate." The smoke mage just looked at me with a look of disdain, quickly wiping it off however when I sent a glare at him. They tried to hide it, but it was obvious that the smoke and _Spectrol _wizards had a bitter rivalry, and I'm positive I'm not the only one who has noticed.

Stark seemed to notice the tension between Cy and myself, so he just let out a small laugh before walking towards us. He turned to look at the door from which his team just exited, before once again chuckling."Don't mind meester angst over there, he's just bitter that I took out three golems on our last job, while he only got one."

Cy smiled at this while I just pursed my lips, my eyes going wide as I realized something. "SHIT! I need to go see the Sallandria!" I rushed down the seating steps before proceeding to gracefully hop off the side and back down into the arena. I then sprinted towards the locker room under the arch, taking a five-second shower to wash off some of the grime. I raced through the change room to the exit, proceeding to slow down to a speed walk as I walked over the ruby carpet of the hall. It was unusually quiet in the corridors, and it seemed to take forever to find the steps down past the request board and then further down into the mountain.

In my rush I didn't realize I took a wrong turn, and I accidently found myself in the dungeons. 'Goddammit, which way do I go from here?' I was about to backtrack, when I bumped into someone behind me. I stumbled, almost falling when a pair of lean arms wrapped around my torso, suspending me only a few feet off the ground. I looked up to see a face that brought a smile to my lips.

"You really should be more careful Dani, the dungeons aren't a place for someone like you." I just smirked as he hefted me back onto my feet, giving me the freedom to brush some dust off my shoulder.

"And are they a place for someone like you, Duncan?" I said, a devilish smile gracing my features. Before me stood Duncan Harrison, One of the nicest guys I have ever met. He was the one who brought me to this guild, and also holds the title of S-Class mage. He also was briefly a teammate of mine, but he thought it would be better for me to make a team with people my skill level. Duncan is 6'3, with hazel brown hair that flourishes to one side, as well as dazzlingly ice-blue eyes. His skin is sun kissed and tan, the only facial feature being a small scar that runs down his right eye. Right now he was wearing his relaxation attire, which consisted of a small black winter cap, white long-armed shirt with the sleeves rolled up, baggy black cotton sweats, and grey slip on flats. He was also wearing his signature blue scarf, something he never takes off his neck. I've never seen Duncan's magic, for all the time I have been with him he's only needed to use his fists. He may not seem intimidating, seeing as he's always smiling, but he can seriously lay the smack down on you. I remember watching him single handedly take on a treasure guild that was jeopardizing one of our jobs. It didn't even look like he was trying.

But the most important thing about Duncan is that you just can't not like him. Well, unless you're Miller, but that's something else. He helps everyone out, tending the bar, preparing meals, helping scout out good jobs, and even helping the new members train for the first month or so of their initiation. I've always looked up to him as like a big brother, and he always acts as if I'm his little sister.

"Well that's a great question Dani, but unfortunately I don't have time for Q and A with Danika Roberro, so I'm sadly going to have to catch you later." Normally I would have been miffed, but his face was so sarcastic it was obvious he was poking fun. I glared at him anyway, simply causing the brunette to laugh, and I hated myself for letting the sound bring a smile to my face.

"Well, you're just going to have to make up for it." He smiled again, and I swear he's been using magic to whiten his teeth.

"That was the plan after all wasn't it?" He left, the question hanging as he made his way down the corridor past me. I smiled, before trying to remember what I was doing in the first place. I suddenly heard his voice come from around the corner.

"Oh yeah! And the path you want is to your right and up the first flight of stairs! Her office is right at the top!"

Office? ... 'UH OH!'

Master is going to kill me!

**With that, Chapter one concludes. You Like? I can't tell if you're nodding or shaking that head-o-yours, but hopefully it wasn't total garbage. As you can see, I'm starting one of those 'A new guild popped up, lets see what happpens' kind of story, but I'm not going crazy on the characters. Sure, there might be quite a few characters that have a small appearance, but in the end I will just be circulating through a small group of protagonists. Danika will be one of these characters, and most of the other people mentioned will stay along for the ride. However, as I stated, they mostly won't have as in depth character development as good old Dani. Don't worry though, I know for a fact that Nissa and Cynex are going to get some screen, um, page time.**

**Anyway, with that out of the way, I would like to say a few things that you guys can contribute to the story. As of now, I have two or three arcs swirling in this big head of mine, but if you guys have ideas for a good major conflict, I am all ears. Also, I _will_ be accepting OC's. Before you rush to you're PM (Please PM if you are going to submit something!) I want to quickly state a few things. First, I have a small list of what I kind of need to know about the character on my bio at the bottom, so please look at that first. Next, I am only accepting a few OC's for the guild itself, so if you send in an OC and you don't see it make an appearance in the Guild, I'm sorry, but I don't want too many characters.**

**However, I will not forget about you're character. If it does not join the guild, he/she will definitely make an appearance as either a member of maybe another guild, or even as an enemy! And who knows? If I start to like writing about them, they might even team up with Dani and Co.!**

**Anyways, I've rambled on long enough, so thanks for reading, and peace out!**

**SillyCurse :)**


	2. Team Mayhem!

Chapter 3

Joseph

I wiped my brow of sweat as we trudged through the forest. I lowered my left hand to my hip, withdrawing the flask I kept at my side. As I used my thumb and forefinger to loosen the top of the container, I hacked through the lush undergrowth that surrounded us. I turned to see Demitri bend over, his hands landing on his knees as he hunched over to control his breathing.

Demitri is a giant of a man standing at 6'8, with deep black hair that is cut short at the front but long in the back, and slanting copper eyes. He has both of his ears pierced at the cartilage, and the rings themselves are of flaming spheres. He is wearing a grey tank top due to the heat, and khaki shorts with matching sandals. Demitri is a take-over mage, and he specializes in drakes. He is probably the most commonly known of our group, for he is known in the north of Fiore for his full take-over, the Fire Serpent.

I looked over to my left to see Christie growl in frustration at the amount insects buzzing around her. She is a petit girl of 5'5, but don't let that fool you, she bites. She has short blue hair and large blue eyes. She too is suffering from the heat, and chose to change into a purple crop top to suffice her temperate needs. She is also wearing blue short-shorts with silver boots. Christie is Holy Grail's only practitioner of a dark art, calling upon the magic of Homunculi. She is able to give life to inanimate objects by inserting the spirit of four souls under her command into said object. For example, she can make a mound of wax turn into an animate fighter, with the powers of one of the four spirits she controls. Her magic, if I was to be frank, was one of the few things that scares me. I also know for a fact that I'm not alone in that party, for when she brings out Ao and Nagini… I don't even want to think about it.

Anyway, it was obvious we needed a small break, even if we were expected shortly. "Kay guys, I think we're going to take a five minute break, so I'm gonna pop out the snacks." In response I got a smile from Chrisite, as well as a grunt from Mr. Mumble. Stabbing my blade into the ground, I lowered myself onto the forest floor and leaned my head against one of the colossal trees. I raised my flask to my mouth as I contemplated the details of this job.

At the moment, we were on the infamous Galuna Island, known for its friendly demons and ever present moon. We had been hired by a wealthy Land lord from Hargeon to go find his missing daughter. The info he had given us was minimal, but after snooping round the mansion a bit, I had come across an old maid who was more than happy to divulge the true story. It would seem that young Miss Fairweather had been born with the gift of magic, brought into this world with the ability to speak to the wildlife of the manor. Her mother, a skilled enchantress herself, mentored the child along with her other duties as lady of the household. However, at the tender age of eight, the young lady's mother perished from an incurable ailment.

"From that point on," the maid had continued in a hushed whisper, spying the room for unwanted listeners. "The lord of the household banned all uses of magic within the manor, calling such business unholy." The maid had then peered to the rafters of the barn we had settled in out back, as if the master of the house was listening in from everywhere possible.

"Mr. Fairweather would soon then become a member of the anti-Magic Counsel activists group from the shadows, funding their gatherings and equipment. All this time, the young Miss Jessica tried in earnest to obey her father's command, but, as a wizard like yourself would know, you cannot ignore magic. It is a fundamental part of a mages anatomy. Soon she would leave the house at night to speak with the animals." The old women had seemed to be done, so I had then begun asking some modest and suitable questions, when she exclaimed; "But that's not it! There's more!"

It would seem the lady I had found was quite the gossip, for she continued drabbling on about a supposed affair between the master and a servant from the kitchen. When I had decided it was about time to find someone else, I started to rise from my seat among the hay, when her bony wrist had latched onto my own, startling me into returning to my prior position.

"Young miss Jessica found a _boy _on one of her late night excursions, and from what I could gander, they had a real fancy for each other the moment they lays eyes upon the other. They would soon meet in the day, something that master Fairweather did not approve of, for the boy was of the line of Misillah, the Fairweathers sworn enemies. Realizing there 'Romeo and Juliett'-Esq situation, they agreed to run off to Galuna, where the moon never wavers and the sea is always breaching."

By this point I was quite done with the lady, but she had given me some useful information. 'Knowledge is power, after all.' I smirked as my masters voice rang through my head. Other than maybe mother, he was the wisest person I have ever known. He taught me everything I know. I raised my hand in front of my face, flexing it as golden light shined from atop my fingertips.

As my power shone, it reflected off of my blade, attracting my attention. Staring into the steel, I could see my own distorted reflection. My sandy blond hair tumbled down my face and neck, curving inwards at the end. My amethyst eyes shone off of the blade, one of the only attributes I attained from my mother. I am not the most intimidating of people, my height and stature being less the extraordinary. I am 6'1 and lean, always looking severely out of place next to my black haired 'buddy'. At the moment, I am wearing a light hazel sash that runs around my shoulder and my waist. Upon my legs I am wearing red shorts, with beaded anklets and wooden sandals.

As I let my light continue to shine, I saw Christie head towards my area. With a sigh I let my magic flow away as I hauled my knapsack off my back, rummaging through its contents until I came out holding a loaf of bread, utensils, cutting board, and jar of preserves. I quickly thinned four slices off of the side of the loaf, assuming that Demitri was in no mood to eat. He isn't a fan of large amounts of flora, so jungles just severely piss him off. As I reached for the jelly I looked up just in time to see Christie's blue eyes staring intently into mine. I gulped before raising an eyebrow, silently inquiring the reason for this breach of space.

The blue haired Homunculist simply huffed, blowing a sapphire strand out of her face before flopping down in front of me. "You always chose the worst food, Jo." I sighed as I slowly lathered one of the slices with the fruity jam. I loved Christie to death, but sometimes she just had a habit of getting on my nerves. Calming myself, I slowly slid the knife over the second piece, smirking as a thought came to mind.

"I was at least smart enough to _bring_ food in the first place. If job planning was left to you or Serakei, only god knows how long it would be before we all starved to death." She looked thoughtful for a second, before she lifted her head to face me and ask a question.

"Why is Serakei so far ahead of us anyway?" It was a valid question, but as I had no solid answer myself, I just brushed the question off with a derivative "Oh you know, he hates waiting, and he probably assumed you two would want to take a couple breaks."

My excuse backfired however, for it seemed I had accidently challenged the summoner. "And are you saying that he thought the 'oh so perfect' Joseph Brauheist to be better than both myself and Demitri?" Damn, I screwed that one up. I'm going to pay for that later.

"No, I more meant that Demitri would want to stop because of his dislike of our surroundings, and you would want to make him feel comfortable so you would also request a stop." Maybe not the smoothest rebuke, but it will do for now. The statement seemed to relax Christie back into a smile at least, so points for me.

Suddenly I heard our take-over friend stand up from where he had been seated and begin to trudge on up the path. Both Christie and I knew there was no point in stopping him, so we quickly packed up and raced after him, demolishing our sandwiches as we went.

After we caught up with our guild-mate, it took us roughly half an hour of hacking and chopping through the foliage to finally reach the opening that was the village of Galuna. In the distance we could see a giant wall of wooden spikes, kept together by a mix of vines and hay. As we all but sprinted forward, the presence of magic became more and more evident, radiating off the place like heat from a furnace.

When we finally reached the entrance, I saw two people conversing at the opening. One was a short, wizened old blue demon, who wielded a wooden staff and was wearing a tribal necklace and white and black skirt. To be honest if it were not for the horns sticking out of his forehead, I would have thought this guy was simply a blue elder.

The other man was someone we all knew however. It was our fourth and final teammate, Serakei Locksmith. This was the 'leader' of our team, Team Mayhem, and probably the strongest of the four of us. He stands at 6'1, with white hair that tumbles down his neck to his shoulder, and startling chestnut eyes. He is wearing an emerald blazer, which is over top of a brown striped shirt. He has black jeans on, with red sneakers. Serakei is a master of Psychokinesis, which allows him to control and manipulate anything around him. This nifty ability gives him the power to do many things, such as transport himself through the air to simulate flying, hurling objects at opponents, and manipulating opponents themselves.

The two seemed to have been having quite the heated debate, but upon sight of us they stopped. The village elder seemed to be less than happy, but Serakei just had a small smirk across his features. Upon reaching the gate, Christie raced forward and did something that shocked the little old demon out of his skirt.

She reeled her arm back and socked the psychokinetic right on the cheek, sending him flying a good ten yards backwards before he flipped and landed on his feet. He smiled however, when he saw Christie recoil her hand in pain from the fierce blow she just delivered. She made a move to charge him again, but Demitri and I each grabbed an arm to restrain her.

Serakei proceeded to join us, that grin never leaving his face. "Now what was that for Chris?" In response, she simply glared at him, before growling out; "You know damn well why. You just up and leave without telling any of us? What were you thinking? We thought you were dead!"

I cringed slightly at her tone, praising whatever higher power that be that it was my white haired friend and not myself. Obviously we hadn't thought he was dead seeing as Serakei is a fully capable wizard, but when Christie gets mad she likes to blame people for rather weak offenses.

While this small conflict occurred, Serakei's demon friend sneered in impatience, soon becoming fed up with the wizard's antics. "Mr. Locksmith, could you please continue your fight elsewhere? After all, you were just exiting yourself." The lunar eyed mage stared down the shrivelled old man, before his smirk grew even bigger. Taking his eyes away from Christie, Serakei proceeded to step past the demon into the village.

"As appealing as that offer may be Moka, I have a job here, so you're going to have to, let's say, _deal _with my presence a little while longer." Moka's face lit up in anger, seething slightly as he advanced on Serakei with his staff. I rushed forward however, grabbing the staff by its handle just above the little demons small hand. The blue chieftain just fixed me an intense stare as my friends past on by behind me to catch up with our psychokinetic.

Moka abruptly stopped glaring, his face instead turning into a look of determination. "You will _not _have Jessica, you understand? You will not bring her back to Viceroy! I have given the word of my village that she will never have to see that man ever again!" The pressure coming from his glance was making me twitch slightly in my spot. Protection, aye? Good to know. I quickly glanced around to see if any of my other guild mates were in the close proximity. Seeing as they had all gone off ahead, it was just myself and the demon.

I leaned forward, hovering my lips beside his right ear. "I will be taking her," Moka began to object, but I gripped his frail hand soothingly, drawing a perplexed look from his features. "I will not, however, bring her back to her father." With that said, I marched on by the chieftain, not giving him a second look.

Unbeknownst to myself, Moka began muttering to my fading silhouette. "Can I trust you, Grail knight?."

:)

As the members of Holy Grail walked around the village, three people stood huddled inside the confines of a certain straw tipi. One was a women with flowing brown hair and blue eyes who was wearing a rather expensive looking blue lace dress, with matching skirt and shoes.

Next to her stood a man with faded blue eyes and hazel hair. He was in a red button up shirt, with a large black katana on his back. He had black cargo shorts and red sneakers.

And finally, there stood another man who looked to be about three year older than the others, appearing to be about twenty-one. He had shoulder length black hair and green eyes. He was wearing a topaz jacket with white pants and green sneakers. Strapped onto his belt was a pair of wickedly curved sai.

The two younger teenagers began talking in rushed words, for they had realized that Viceroy had sent agents to find them. "Lucian, we need to flee! I would rather live in the freaking forest than go back to that hell hole!" The young lady seemed quite distressed, and it seemed to have a great effect upon Lucian.

"Don't worry Jessica, I had a back-up plan assembled in case something like this happened. It's not ideal, but it will have to do." Lucian then turned to the second man, seeming to be struggling to announce his next set of words. "Kristoff, can I trust you to go and tell _them _that if they help... get rid of the mages they will be paid handsomely."

The man Kristoff simply nodded, before dashing out of the entrance of the hut and disappearing into the wind.

:l

Deeper within the forest of Galuna, an ancient temple stood. This ancient fortress used to be the holding cell of the evil Deliora, but now an equally nefarious evil seeks shelter within its crumbling walls. An assortment of witches and wizards, whom all of which were wearing rather diabolic black and red robes, traversed the many paths of the temple.

Inside the structures throne room, two people stood across from each other, one relaxing in an old golden throne while the other stood tall and resolute across the room.

"You really think that Misillah boy will ask for our assistance? That family has more than enough experience with us. They should know by now not to trust us." The figure upon the throne simply laughed, the hood of the robe falling off to reveal a woman of about twenty with auburn hair and grey eyes.

"Sera, you worry too much." Sera seemed undeterred by this comment, but the auburn haired woman continued talking. "As long as he can protect his love he will do anything, including hiring us!"

Sera simply lowered her head, still seeming doubtful of the others reasoning. "I guess we will see, right Leesa?"

Leesa simply smiled. "Why of course."

:(

Kristoff raced through the wind, following the route he knew would take him to Veminweld. Kristoff himself did not trust them, for ever since the dark guilds arrival nothing but evil has come from Luna Temple. However, Kristoff alone was not enough to stop them, so he was forced to allow them to stay. And now to think he was asking for their assistance? Ugh, it made him sick.

Suddenly, the air around him shifted, and he felt a presence nearby. The Wind mage stopped in his tracks, eyeing the surrounding area. "Who goes there?"

The air in front of him distorted, and out of it stepped Moka, a real shock to Kristoff. The wizard dropped to his knees, something he always did before the chieftain of Galuna. "What can I do for you sir?"

Moka simply leaned upon his staff for a moment, before answering with a troubled tone. "I understand you wish to help those two, but we must not involve ourselves with the guild up there." Moka seemed quite disturbed by his next sentence, but quickly continued. "I know we promised Jessica and Lucian protection within the village, but we can't allow them to call upon Veminweld. So I want you to instead go find the Grail mages and help them find Jessica."

Kristoff quickly stood up, anger evident upon his face. "You want me to sell Jess out?"

"You must, for if all of those mages are together, we could defeat the wolves skulking at our doorstep." Kristoff seemed to fight an internal battle for a moment, before sagging his head towards the elder demon.

"As you wish sir." With that, the wizard was gone, vanishing into the wind. Moka also began channeling his magic, vanishing from the material world. 'You better be as strong as you boasted, Serakei Locksmith!'

**Hello Again! You're probably thinking 'Wow that was fast!' I'm going to let you in on a little secret. I have the next chapter pre-written as well. As I am writing this down before I have even released the first chapter, I regret to tell you that if you sent in an OC, you probably won't see unless I _Really _liked your idea and added him/her to the chapter.**

**While it is unlikely for you to see any of your guys' characters here, if you send your the OC in relatively quickly after I post the first Chappy there is actually a much higher chance of seeing it in the next chapter! To remind you, all you gotta do is send me a PM with their details (Full rundown on bio) and soon you'll see them on your screen! **

**So, I'll see you soon you Silly Gooses!**

**SillyCurse :) **


	3. Lone Wolf!

Holy Grail

Chapter: 3

Randuin

To the east of Balsam village lies the infamous Dark Isles, a cluster of land masses that always seem to hum with a strange and unknown magic. The biggest of these Isles goes by the name of Jorgoth, and it is home to a plethora of dark and dangerous creatures. It is here, however, that a certain guild resides. This guild goes by the name of Kings' Sorrow, and it is home to a total of thirty nefarious and dark mages.

The guild hall for this evil amalgamation of unholy wizards is located in the marshes of Jorgoth, a good twenty minute hike inland from the murky and ghoul infested waters. The establishment was very castle-Esc, with dark brick turrets and stone walls and fortifications. The inside was all stone and silk, the carpets and adornments that hugged the wall all being either green red or black.

At this very moment, a very important meeting was taking place deep within the confines of the building. Down in the lowest level of the fortress, a group of Sorrow's best mages crowded around a table piled high with different pages and scrolls.

One of these wizards, a man with ink black hair and matching eyes who adorned a poisonous green kimono and sandals, pointed to one of said scrolls. "People, this is our chance to take out that silly guild Quatro Puppy. While they may be strong, if we can just take out Bacchus, the rest will be child's play." Many around him seemed to agree, but from behind the group another voice, much more sinister, spoke.

"And what of the master? He is a strong and capable wizard, or have you forgotten, Ariel?" Everyone jumped upon hearing the voice, and Ariel's confident face turned to that of pure fear. He immediately through himself on the ground in front of the figure who spoke. It was a man, cloaked in a brown trench coat with fanged hood and dragging grey leg robes.

"Master Siga! Please forgive me for my impudence! I just thought that if we took out Bacchus, it would leave you to strike that fool Goldmine down!" Siga, The guild master, simply stared down at the mage, before beginning to laugh. When he was finished, he looked around the room at the other mages present.

"Goldmine will become dust between my fingertips." Upon hearing this, the other members of the room began to laugh, some almost salivating at the thought of destroying such a popular guild. Ariel had joined in on the laughter but soon noticed one of the ten people around the table wasn't laughing. He could not see the man's face, or determine anything really from how forward his hood was facing. All he managed to see was a single lock of red hair.

"Master Siga," The person began, his voice deep and rumbling. All others present stopped talking, and looked towards the masked mage. Siga Also looked curiously at the mage, before talking.

"Yes, soilder?" The boy, for it was obvious he was male from his voice, simply raised his head slightly, revealing a little bit of his lower face. It was covered n bandaging, that seemed old and decaying.

"I hear a wizard from Holy Grail has found our location." At this, some in the room trembled slightly. A certain women in particular, adorned in a red and green dress, started stuttering.

"H-H-Holy G-Grail? T-The ones who destroyed the dark guild M-Morde last week?" The mages then began to talk to themselves, gossiping about the guild Morde and their defeat.

"They say it was just three wizards,"

"One was invincible!"

"There were ghosts everywhere!"

"SILENCE!" Everyone quickly hushed themselves, scared for they had provoked Siga's temper. "So what? None can get into our castle, it is too well protected. Let them come! All they will meet is their fiery end." Siga's hand burst into green flame, causing those closest to him to jump backwards in surprise. The cloaked man at the back just remained still.

"Impenetrable you say… you are sure about that?" Siga was beginning to grow wary, for just now he was wondering who this man was. It was as if the idea only just appeared into his mind, but he had been thinking about it for a while.

"Who are you, wizard?" The man raised his head slightly ore to reveal a pair of venomous yellow eyes. He laughed, before he thrust out his hands and magic circles appeared on them.

"This guilds doom."

A young couple were picking berries in the woods outside of a small village slightly to the east of Balsam. As the young girl searched in earnest for the ripest of fruit, the teenage boy slowly stalked his way towards the basket of berries they had collected thus far. When he was about to open the lid to the basket, a large object suddenly launched itself into his stomach, pushing backwards a few yards. Laying in the forest floor, his back thoroughly soaked, he came out of his daze to see his girlfriend pinning him down whilst atop him.

"Sarah, why are we in this position?" The boy suddenly broke out in laughter as Sarah screeched, flying up into the air before hiding behind a tree a couple feet away.

"IT WASN'T LIKE THAT JOEY!" Joey continued laughing, coming around the tree to snake his arms around her stomach from behind.

"Don't worry baby, I was just kidding." Sarah smiled, and the two leaned forward to kiss. Just when their lips were inches apart, a massive explosion triggered off in the distance, a wave of force ending their moment and sending the two lovers flying backwards. Joey was the first up, looking for Sarah to find her on the ground a couple inches to his left. He rushed forward, helping her get up.

"What the hell was that?" She cried out, hugging onto Joey tightly out of fear. He simply stroked her hair soothingly, before grabbing her wrist and rushing out of the forest. Upon making it back to the village, he saw all of his kinsfolk out and about, some freaking out, others calmly trying to figure out what had just occurred. The two departed with a quick hug, before finding their families. "It was a grand pillar of magic power Joey, something the likes I had never seen before," He had heard both his mother and father say.

"Where did it come from?" Both of Joey's parents shared a dark look, before all three of them headed down the street to a small ridge overlooking the forest that Sarah and he had just resided in. Past the vast expanse of temperate forest, you could begin to see the marshes that led to the Dark Isles, a place that Joey's parents had forbidden him to go.

Joey's father pointed out into the distance, past the forest, the marshes, and finally towards the islands themselves. "The home of _those _mages." I knew where he spoke of, but I didn't believe it till he actually said it. "Jorgoth."

Randuin

"Pathetic really, the only one in the complex who survived the first strike was the master, and even then he could barely cast a spell." Looking into the eyes of master Salandria, I could see the gleam was in those purple orbs of hers again. 'He must be on a job right now,' I thought. 'Better not piss her off'

I was speaking to her through my communication lacrima, and it somewhat gave warmth to these cold and desolate Isles as I gazed upon my guild back in Sylvein. Two weeks it took, to infiltrate and then get into that meeting, and I was ready to go home.

Master's face was blank as she absorbed the info I had just reported to her, but I could see in the corner of her eye that flash of worry. "Are you sure what you heard is 100% valid?"

"Yes, I heard it from Siga himself as I… dealt with him." Master's lips twitched minutely, but I could see the disdain that function was meant to express. No matter how many times she sends me on missions, she's never really had the stomach for this stuff. To think that her best friend is Miller…

"None of Kings' Sorrow still lives?" I could see the hope in her eyes, and I put on my most dashing of smiles. Not that she could see it.

"I let the lowest grunt I could find run to warn the other guilds. 'The forces of Grail are coming!' We'll soon be feared by all of the Baram Alliance." Master suddenly grew solemn.

"Be wary of what you say Ran. Tartaros is still at large, and they are definitely not people we wish to trifle with. Please promise me you won't mess with them." As she said this, Master's voice became more strict and solemn by the second, something that surprised me. Sallandria has been through hell and back with a smile on her face. How can Tartaros affect her this much?

I complied quickly after my small mental inquiry. "Of course, Madam Brauheist." Suddenly, there was a knock on the door to Master's office, before Danika Roberro, a relatively new member to Holy Grail, burst in.

"I am soooo sorry I'm la-" she began, before noticing the conversation that was taking place. The two of us have never really been in much contact, so I was not surprised when she looked at me curiously. Everyone does.

I have been told by countless people my appearance is quite eye-catching. I'm 6'2, and my entire body up to my mouth is covered in old, time plagued gauze. I have dark blonde hair that is spiked up at the front and cut short at the back, and venomous looking yellow eyes. Over my bandaging I wear an ancient brown traveller's cloak, a gift from my father. Upon my feet a wear a pair of camouflage hunting boots. My guild mark is a deep red, and is located on the temple of my head.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," she stated hesitantly, obviously confused as to what is going on. Master seemed perfectly fine, however.

"Ah, Danika, good, stand beside me." The young girl looked, bless her soul, aghast at the idea, and very slowly took her spot beside the master. It was funny looking at the differences between the two. Master Salandria is 6'0 tall with black hair and Magenta eyes. She likes to wear, and at this moment is wearing a red lace dress that pushed out at the bottom, the dress also coming up past her shoulder and creating a horned collar. The dress reaches her ankles, so you can only see the bottom of her black socks and white heels. Upon her back is a long gnarled Cedar staff, which always emanates a golden glow.

Danika, compared, is quite, well, bland. No offense to the girl, but she doesn't really hold a candle to the master. Speaking of which, I was confused as to why Master invited the child to our conversation. Before either of us could talk, Danika raised her hand, as if she were still in school and needed permission to talk.

Danika turned to face me, a quizzical look upon her face. "You are Randuin Dole, correct?" It would be a lie to say I was not surprised to see she had remembered me, but I dealt with the situation accordingly.

"Yes, that would be me. And you yourself are Danika Roberro." It was more of a statement than a question, but I need to set up equal ground. I turned back to Sallandria to see her rummaging through some files behind her desk. Danika seemed to do the same, and soon the both of us were well aware of the awkwardness in the room.

After what seemed like forever, Master finally pulled out a large folder, stuffed to the brim with a series of reports and diagrams and charts. I couldn't see anything specific about them through the lacrima, but there was one heading I could read clear as day.

"DARK GUILD SHADOWS NEST RUNNING RAMPANT AROUND FIORE!"

I shivered as I recognized the name of the guild. It is one that our guild in particular has a rough past with, seeing as they are the reason for our creation. And that is _not _a good thing. Danika also seemed to react to the headline, gasping as she put a hand to her mouth.

"I never would have thought this could happen," Master began, her voice even more solemn then when she was speaking to me about Tartaros. It obviously gave the younger girl quite a fright, though she did quite well to hide it. Props to her. She's good. Almost fooled _me._

Salandria sighed, before moving towards the back of her office to where there was a single wooden door. This door had a simple steel doorknob and lock, with a small round window into what lie beyond. Master stared out through this window, giving her a view of one of Holy Grails greatest feats.

For years, the people of Sylvein would have to pack up and leave once a year due to the volcanoes yearly eruptions. However, using the resources the civilians could provide us, we had managed to create a lacrima that absorbed the magma from the yearly quakes to power the guilds lights and equipment.

The device itself was a thing of beauty, for because of the magic inside of the mountain, the lava inside the lacrima glowed with an ethereal light. The orb itself was a perfect sphere, and it was situated within a surreal cave full of shimmering gems and crystals. It was supported by four knight statues, each one hefting a small ledge that was at each bottom corner. Each knight was adorned with chain mail that had the Holy Grail mark, with faces showing that of deep determination.

Gazing at this amazing source of energy, Salandria continued speaking. "They have raised their flag again, and have donned the mark the Hornet of Death. Do you two understand what this means?" I quickly nodded, and saw as Danika did the same. I am still confused as to why she is here, but whatever. I'll find out soon enough.

"We must stop them. It is our purpose after all. It's why we were created. You two have heard the story I assume?" I had, of course, but I was shocked to see Danika shake her head. I raised an eye at Master, and she simply smiled. Danika seeing our reaction quickly stated "I know we were created to defeat them and silence their leader Tahlaar, but I don't know the _whole_ story."

Salandria simply laughed, a sound that could bring a flower back to life, full of life and love. "Well then let me tell you, young one." With that, Master swiped her hand through the air, gold tendrils floating off her hand as she did so until a screen appeared in front of Danika. She then swiped her hand again, my lacrima becoming a screen as well.

I growled slightly, in no mood to have to sit in the cold marshes of the Dark Isle and re-learn about our past. "I already know about this my lady!" Salandria just laughed once more.

"Everyone can use a good history lesson, especially one as good as this."

"It was in the year of X760, in a time where things had finally reached a state of harmony. The dark guilds were barely present in the world of the daily on-goer, and the Baram Alliance was something people though of as a myth, as if they didn't even exist. It was a time when Phantom Lord was the most popular guild, soaring above all others. Quatro Cerberus was doing fantastic at the time as well, and Blue Pegasus had just recently gotten a new guild master, a rather powerful but strange cross dresser by the name of Bob."

"I remember it all started on a Saturday. I had just gotten back from a job at my guild, and I saw Master scolding one of the newer members. He was a strange boy who liked to stick to the shadows, but when you started talking to him he was rather sweet."

"Anyway, after the Master was done with him, I approached him to let him know my adventure had been a success. Before I got to him though, another woman by the name of Jallia Skall who was also the guilds bartender, rushed over to him, claiming someone wished to speak with him. At the time I had just shrugged and gone to find something to drink, but little did I know that the conversation happening with my Master was one that would change the face of Fiore."

"Two days later, the entirety of the guild was called to gather round the lounge, a cozy little nook in the north east end of our hall. As we all settled in, our Master rose to the front, his face sagging in grief. We all were shocked, for we had never seen our master in such a state of mood. I still remember his first sentence clear as day. 'My young'uns, today marks the day that we must fight to protect what we hold dear.' He told us that an army of dark guilds had assembled, and that they had begun ransacking and plundering the west of Fiore."

"We all were confused, for none of us really knew what an army of wizards was like. The biggest group any of us ever fought would be a max of maybe ten, twelve. We couldn't even imagine what an army was. It is something I hope the two of you never have to deal with."

"Soon, all of the guilds where sending out teams to stop this menace, but it was for naught. This army, this force of evil, was thousands of mages strong, and at the helm of it all was one man. The guild master of the guild that rounded up all of these monsters. Tahlaar Volkshev, or, as he would later be known, The Hornet of Death."

"Finally, an entire guild was sent to stop them. It was a guild by the name of Scallion, and they were a knighthood of courageous and brave witches and wizards. All of them died, crushed under the boot of the Hornet."

"After this, many despaired. All thought that this foul sorcerer was going to overthrow the counsel, and then the kingdom. So all the guilds came together. Jose of Phantom Lord, Goldmine of Quatro Cerberus, Makarov of Fairytail, Zilean of Lamia Scale, the newly instated Bob of Blue Pegasus, and finally, in place of my master, myself of Mermaids Heel."

"We all conferred with each other. For days we planned, for days, we prepared ourselves for the most brutal fight we would ever experience. We only reached one impasse during the entire time. If we were to fight together, it should be under one banner. But which one?"

"Jose wanted it to be Phantom Lord, seeing as it was the strongest and most popular. But not many wanted to be led by said guild master. We debated, and things got rather heated, when I had an idea. 'In the eyes of the gods, we are all their children. We are all the same, but to fight each other requires tribute. In the days of old, man used to offer up food and drink to the gods for them to sip.'

"The others had been confused, unsure of what I speak. I remember blushing at all the attention I got during that time, but I knew in my heart that what I thought be right was indeed what should be done. 'The gods, they say, drink these offerings from golden goblets, or grails. Together, we are the army of justice, of the god's wrath. We, our Holy Grail!'"

"Other than Jose, all agreed, and so the temporary guild Holy Grail was born."

I looked at the screen as she spoke this entire time. It showed images of Salandria's old guild hall, of her friends and family, of her battles, and of the armies of Tahlaar. It was truly inspirational, I will not lie, watching these events happen before my eyes. But it seemed that she had stopped the story too soon.

"Master, why did you stop?" She simply smirked, and I knew that the answer was going to irritate me.

"You said you had already learned this stuff Ran. And Danika only needed to know why our guild was built, so I told her." While my face was impassive, I was grinding my teeth. She knew I had really gotten into the story. Freaking devil, she is.

"So why did you bring us here master?" The voice was Danika's and it almost gave me a heart attack. I had forgotten the girl was there, and I clutched my chest as my heart started to calm down. Salandria's face turned solemn once more, and I knew something serious was up.

"As you've seen," She gestured to the headline of the paper I had seen earlier. "Someone has re-established Shadow's Nest, and have begun doing what they did last time. Ransacking small villages, plundering towns. It needs to be stopped." She fixed both of us a hard stare before continuing.

"I am assembling a team of seven wizards. You two ae the only non S-class that I am choosing. Think of it as a slight honour." I was dumbstruck. Never in my life, would I have expected master to entrust me with a job like this. A massive grin spread across my face, not that anyone could really see it.

Danika seemed neutral, not conveying any emotion. Wow, she really is good. I'd have to actually use my magic to pick up on her vibes right now…

"Are you sure you want me Master?" It was there that I realized she was feeling slightly scared. Her voice had been shaky, and it had cracked on 'Master'. Salandria grew a big smile once more for the girl.

"I don't want you on this team Danika, I _need_ you on this team, for more reasons than you can imagine." This seemed to brighten the mage up. "But if you show up next time I call for you this late again, you can kiss your chance goodbye."

Danika rushed forward and threw herself at the master feet, apologizing at least ten times before getting up and sprinting out of the room. I chuckled lightly at Danika's antics, for they reminded me so much of her entire team.

"Are you sure about her my lady? She's not particularly strong." Master sighed, before putting the folder back into her desk.

"She'll do well to keep Duncan and the other knights under control. That's sadly all I really expect from her." We sat there for a minute, basking in the silence. Realizing that all topics of conversation had been exhausted, I began shutting down the power from my side of the lacrima. "I will be back soon my lady," I stated, giving a quick wave as a shut the power off fully.

I stared off into the distance, looking towards the forests in the distance past these retched swamps. Looks like fun times are ahead!


	4. Memories Re-lived

**Would like to thank those of you who submitted OC's, it adds a new variable to this fic that helps make me want to write more!**

**Laura Froshe-Noneofyourdamnbuisness14**

**Mikael Renton-altijr95**

**Lindsey Bonnette-iamasonofOURANOS**

Holy Grail

Chapter 4

Danika

As I raced through the dungeon, I tried to comprehend the events that had just transpired within that office. Seeing Randuin had been strange, for he is sort of a wild card within Holy Grail. A solo mage with what seems like the power of an S-Class mage, yet has never been chosen for the S-Class trials. He also only goes on missions that Master Salandria specifically gives to him, that apparently half of which aren't even requested jobs.

I remember the first time I had ever saw him. It was my second day at the guild, and Duncan was showing me around the place. He was introducing me to others as well, and that's when I saw Randuin. He was walking up the stairs on his way to the male dormitories, and I recall that I had strange urge to go and talk to him.

So I pointed towards the man and asked Duncan who he was, which caused the brunette beside me to break out into one of his signature smiles. I still remember what he said.

"That Dani, Is Randuin Dole. A piece of advice from me, would be to keep your distance. That kid is a time-bomb waiting to happen." Duncan seemed to move to another subject after that, but I couldn't get the image of his piercing yellow eyes out of my head. And now to think I'm going on a job with him, and the other S-Class no less!

Oh god, I am not excited for this. While Salandria had been talking, the screen in front of me had been showing pictures of what she was saying. The Mermaid Heel's guild hall, The Shadow's Nest's guild mark. And the army, I can still see it in my mind's eye. It was the largest force I had ever seen, and every single one of them was a mage.

And I have to go against the remnants of that force. Dear god, it's sending shivers up my spine. 'Hey, at least I'll be with Duncan, right?' Yah, that's right. I'll be with all of the S-Class! There aint no way we could even dream of messing up with all of Holy Grails S-Class.

The S-Class… It's not the only name they go by. Their other name brings fear into the hearts of darkness, and smiles onto those of light. They are known as the knights of heaven, the warriors of humanity. Their other name, is the _Inquisitors._

Deep in thought, I weaved my way through the dungeons once more, before finding the stairs back up to the request board. As I walked up, I heard a rather large echo coming from above and behind me.

"That's coming from the Arena," I muttered, before making my way up the other set of stairs and down the hall. As I approached the massive doors that opened up to our training ground, I could hear people cheering from the other side. "What the hell…"

As I opened the door, I was greeted with a massive influx of energy, and I had to brace myself against the side of the entrance to stop myself from being blown away back down the hall. When the force of energy finally calmed down, I made my way to the seating area to see about twelve of my guild mate's watching and cheering on the battle that was going on down below.

I quickly found Nissa, who was sitting next to her brother and another good friend of ours, Laura Froshe. Laura is also 19, and stands at 5'11. She has dazzling pink hair that curls out around her head, and dark obsidian eyes. She is wearing at the moment her relaxation attire, seeing as she had just gotten back from a job yesterday. She is wearing a red and white baseball cap, baggy grey sweater that says '_Valor'_ on the chest, and baggy grey sweats with matching flats. She is a distortion mage, which basically means she can warp and distort her friends/foes, as well as the battlefield. For example, she can cause massive illusions that can affect everyone in a specific area, as well as speed up o slow down an ally or enemy.

Anyway, I forged a path over to where they were seated, plopping down to Laura's left. "What's going on?" Stark just laughed, giving me a strange look while pointing down to the battle.

"What do you think? Dante and Mikael are duking it out!" I looked out, gasping as I realized he was telling the truth. Another wave of sheer force suddenly propelled a mixture of ash and debris into the seating area, forcing to close my eyes to prevent dirt from scratching my cornea. When I opened up my eyes, the two opponents who had been locked in battle were now a couple meters apart from each other.

To the left stood a man named Mikael Renton, a nice yet destructive wizard who has the claim of S-Class. He is 20 years old, and stands at 6'0 with a very lean and fit build. He has his charred red hair spiked up around his head, with poisonous looking yellow eyes. When at the guild, and especially whilst sparring, he likes to don and outfit of black sleeveless shirt, gloomy torn pants, and dark combat boots. His guild mark is always clearly displayed, situated on his left shoulder in a bold looking red. Mikael is a 3rd generation Lava Dragon Slayer, and he is known for his rages that have literally torn town asunder. Mikael is the newest of the S-Class mages of Holy Grail, only passing his exam this year.

To the right stood a man named Dante Felbourne, a brutal but hilarious sorcerer who also holds claim to the title S-Class. He is 25 years old, and stands at 6'4 with massive, bulging muscles. He has crimson auburn hair that seems to crackle above his head in a flowing motion at all times. He has terrifying electric gold eyes that always crackle with power, and many a mage surrender before a fight begins simply staring into those malicious orbs. Dante wears an outfit of all bloody red, a jacket atop of a long sleeved shirt with short ripped pants and tattered flats. At the moment, in each of his hands, are two giant red broadswords that are serrated at intervals all the way to the tip.

But the thing that's most apparent on Dante is the massive tattoo that surrounds his body. It starts at his lower back, and encompasses his entire torso, arms, and face. The tattoo is of a dragon, inked red and blue, and each part of the dragons anatomy aligning with Dante's. The wings spread on the back of his shoulders, the tail running down to the lower half of his torso. The arms and claws spread across his arms, and the head of the dragon seemed to be swallowing Dante's face. Dante is a 1st Generation Hell Dragon Slayer, and is the third longest running S-Class mage of Holy Grail.

The two of them are truly awe-inspiring wizards, as well as the most shiver inducing mages I have ever met. 'And I am going to be working with them, for the next who knows how many days.' I thought somewhat miserably.

As I was basking in my own gloom, I overheard a couple of other guild mates ahead of me debating the outcome of this spar. The one on the left, Zak Grouse, is a somewhat petit man standing at 5'9 with green hair that is buzz cut and shining blue eyes. He was supporting Mikael.

"He may be new, but that dragon has a reputation of being almost as bad as Natsu from Fairytail when it comes to his destructiveness!"

The girl beside him simply chuckled, a wizard who just likes to go by the name Mercury. She has puffy black hair and bronze eyes, her ears and lip pierced with small metal beads. "Mikael may be strong, but Dante is literally known as the "_Lord of Hell._" During his year of S-Class testing, he managed to defeat a team of Miller and Maxis!"

Zak's eyes went wide at that. "Really? I never knew about that. That's incredible!" Zak moved to continue, when suddenly from down in the arena both dragon slayers started laughing. Mikael's deep yet crisp voice rang out through the massive battleground.

"It would seem that either I've improved, or you have gotten weaker Dante." I looked at Mikael in shock. He was about to get the shit beaten out of him. Dante simply smirked, revealing his terrifyingly sharp teeth. Dante began talking, his voice sounding as it always did. It was as if someone was scratching a chalkboard whilst someone inhaled hexafluoride.

"Mikaaael… you seem to forget… I haven't even started trying…" This seemed to piss Mikael off, and he leaped into the air.

"_Lava Dragon; Wing Attack!"_

Both of the slayer's hands became covered in dripping magma, swirling as if being constantly fanned. Dante continued to smirk however, before using his own spell. He outstretched his hand, and then made a thrusting motion with his palm facing Mikael.

"_Hell Dragon; Ultimate Punishment!"_

A magic circle materialized in Dante's palm, and then a giant blast of red lightning and black flames poured forth from his hand. The blast engulfed Mikael, sending him flying backwards to the other side of the arena. However, he was up in a flash, planting both of his feet firmly in the ground.

"_Lava Dragon Roar!"_

A huge blast of fire and earth flew out of the Mikael's mouth, racing towards the other slayer. Dante just reeled his head back before contesting the spell with his own roar.

"_Hell Dragon Roar!"_

A mighty explosion of power shot out of Dante's mouth, hurtling through the air. As the spells collided, a massive outburst of energy exploded around the spells, the pressure forcing me painfully backwards into my seat. Dust obscured everyone's vision, but ever so slowly it passed away to reveal Dante standing in front of a downed Mikael. He leaned forward, his eyes focusing onto the yellow ones below him.

"You forget Mike… _I _am the one who beat you three years ago… and while you have gotten tougher… I have gotten ten times _stronger…_" Mikael simply seemed to lay there on the ground, slowly regaining control of his breathing. It was strange to see there was a smile on his face.

"I let my emotions get the better of me, didn't I?" It was more of a statement than a question. Dante chortled at this.

"Yes… you indeed did…" Dante then reached down and extended his hand to the other Dragon Slayer, who graciously accepted the aid. As Mikael began brushing the dust off of his shoulders, people began to leave as the interesting spar was over.

'Wow, they are insane!' I thought as I walked side-by-side with Laura and Nissa. As we moved through the crowd of mages walking out the door, I saw Duncan race past me. He noticed my stare as he gave me a wink, before proceeding to the male change rooms under the arena. 'Must be going to tell them about the job.'

I suddenly felt an elbow in my side, wincing as I turned to see Nissa staring at me. "What are you thinking about Dani? Your minds been wandering all day!" I just looked at her and sighed, knowing the master would not want me to tell her about the goings on in the office earlier.

"Oh you know, just a bit tired from my spar with Cy earlier. Speaking of which, where is he?" I had only just realized as I looked around that Cynex was indeed not present. Nissa just shrugged her shoulders, but Laura gave a short laugh.

"Knowing him, he's probably by the bar drinking away his sanity." I raised an eyebrow to the distortion mage, who looked at me curiously. "Wait, you don't know?" Both myself and Nissa gave Laura the 'we both know I don't know get on with it' look. This time Laura really did laugh, throwing her head back as the sound rang down the hallway.

"He asked out Mya earlier, and apparently he got shot down hard." My eyes filled with worry at that. And I could see that Ni's eyes mirrored mine.

Mya Pourlia is easily the prettiest, and nicest person in this guild. She has glorious blond hair that falls down her shoulders and then proceed to curve slightly up. Her eyes are a light shining green that look like leaves on summer trees. She has perfect tan skin that would make Blue Pegasus wizards jealous, and has not a single blemish nor scar. She's 5'10, and has a very curvature build, allowing strength while at the same tame appeal.

And since day one, Cy has been head over heels for this chick. When they first met, he was nothing but a stuttering mess, barely able to introduce himself. They are really good friends now, but Cy has always been secretly hinting that he wants to make it more. I've talked to him about just going up and telling her how he feels, but he's never been able to.

'Until today,' I though miserably. This day couldn't get any worse. During my little thought process, Laura had a question of her own for Nissa. "Hey, do you know if Demitri is around? I was surprised to not see him there. He idolizes hi brother." Nissa shook her head, and so did I mentally.

"He's not around right now. He's off on a job with his team, Mayhem." I quickly thought back as to Sallandria's mood during the meeting earlier. She seemed a lot sadder, and a lot more worried than usual. 'That makes sense, god I am an idiot! Jo is in that team after all…'

"I gotta say, while he may not be the nicest person on earth, Demitri's got some spunk! I mean, did you see him take care of that dark wizard Markus when we were with him? He literally just knocked him out, in one punch!" Wow, didn't realize Laura paid that much attention to Demitri. Both of my friends stopped to talk about Demitri more, while I left them behind and headed to my room to start packing.

Meanwhile, on Galuna…

Serakei and Demitri where, at the moment, walking around town and searching for a building among the tipi's and cabins that would most likely hold the young lady they were tasked to find. The Psychokinetic pointed to a large house at the end of the small village.

"That looks like a suitable place to-" Mid-sentence he stopped as Demitri let loose a tremendous sneeze. Serakei just looked at the Take-over mage with a look of 'are you serious?' The dark haired behemoth just ignored the look, gesturing for his friend to continue. 'Someone must be talking about me…'

Back in Sylvein…

As I continued to pack for my job, I took the time to actually try and assess what I knew and what I was going to have to do. I know for a fact that I'm not being dragged along for my power. I mean, I'm with the freaking S-Class, and Randuin is one strong guy. I've seen him vaporize buildings with a bit of concentration.

Salandria must have an ulterior motive for sending me with the _Inquisitors_, and I need to figure out what that is. Seeing the severity of this assignment, she would not bring a liability for no reason. 'Unless there are going to be other people there, other guilds, but why would I need to help with that? Unless… no she wouldn't ask that of me… would she?'

As the thought of _that _came into my head, I shut my eyes as I tried to banish my past away. 'I entrusted her with that information not so that she could use it, and we both know that.' As I thought this, images of what happened last time once again filled my brain. I knew that I couldn't fight the memories, so I just let loose my barriers and let them come surging forth.

_The night was peaceful in the small village of Lilycove. The town rested upon the sandy shores to the east of Hargeon, and it was a place of peace and prosperity. All of the building were made of would and straw, and there was no currency, for all shared the food and commodities of the village. Within this village, in the house closest to the beach, a family of five sat around the dining room as they ate and made merry. The father was a kind man with kind blue eyes and brown hair. He wore an old button up floral shirt and tan khakis. The mother was a gentle women with hazel eyes and auburn hair. These two sat at either end of the small wood table, the light in the room coming from the jar above their heads that was filled with fireflies. _

_On both sides of these parents sat three children. On the right side of the father sat a young boy with brown hair and brown eyes. Beside him sat a little girl even younger than him that had blue eyes and blue eyes and brown hair. And then on the other side of the table, to the left of the father, sat a girl with blue eyes and auburn hair._

_As the family ate and talked, the little ones making cute jokes which received much more adoration from the parents than a joke of that caliber should have. This family was that of the village's mayor, that being the father, whose name was Michael Roberro. Michael was known in the village as one of the best mayors they had ever had, and as such they all abided by the laws, and the town was even more prosperous than it usually was._

_Within the community, since they do not have a currency, they cannot afford to ask the local guilds for assistance when magical problems arise. As such, the village has one mage that is selected from within the town to help deal with these problems. At the moment, a man named Rale Tarwood was the resident wizard, and he happened to be the brother of the Mayors wife, Tunia Roberro._

_To provide safety to the mage who has been chosen to be the village's wizard, an age limit is made to ensure that at the beginning of their ascent to being elderly, they would switch off with the next in line. _

_The next in line, was actually was sitting at the Roberro's table, the eldest of the children, Danika. Danika was gifted at an early age with the power to make the towns few lacrima work, as well as heat things up and repel things away from her._

_As such, when Rale was around, he would help teach Danika how to use her magic. The only problem however, was that no one yet knew what her power was. She had yet the power to make a physical manifestation of it, and as such Rale could only speculate. Years past, and soon Rale was old, and Danika was not so young…_

For some reason, the memories vanished. My hopes rose, I thought I got lucky, and wouldn't have to relive that pain again. I headed over to the sink inside my room as I began to brush my teeth. Once I deemed my team thoroughly scrubbed, leaned forward and spat the smooth paste out of my mouth. Swilling some water in my mouth to help remove the taste, I looked in the mirror to see if I needed to take a shower before bed. I Spit-took and shrieked at the same time, for where my reflection should be, a young girl with burnt and singed hair as well as piercing blue eyes stared back at me with tears in her eyes. The memories hit again, and I had to grip the sink in front of me to stay up, cracks lining the metal.

_Rale's hair, which used to be so much like his sisters, and a lot like Danika's, was now a startling grey, and his used-to-be shining blue eyes now had dulled, but yet filled with wisdom and power. It was the no-longer-so-young Danika's 16__th__ birthday, and it was the day of her initiation of being village wizard. Her parents, who like Rale were starting to show their age, walked with her to the centre of town. This area of town was a large circular stone floored area with a small altar in the middle._

_It is here that the initiation was to happen, and the entire population of the village was present. The small town of about 350 people began cheering as young Danika appeared with her parents. Danika shook from the attention, fearing that she would mess up in front of them, in front of her parents, and more importantly her mentor Rale._

_As she kept walking forward, the 16 year old walked towards the altar. Unknown too many in the village, this altar is actually an ancient relic. It has the ability to reveal the true properties of magic, as well as boost the power of the person who uses the altar._

_Danika turned to her right as she saw her younger brother and sister, Darren and Wyllia, smile and cheer her on as well. At this, the young mage smiled as small tears formed in the corner of her eyes. She lifted her blue eyes as she continued marching towards the altar. Abruptly, her parents stopped. Danika looked to her mother, who gave her the most amazing smile she had ever seen._

"_Go on Dani, we'll always be with you." The tears that had gathered at the corner of the teens eyes began to fall as she hugged her mother and nodded at her father. He smiled as well, gesturing her to the altar. "We love you."_

My eyes stung as the tears began free falling from my face. 'I don't want to see this! Please! Stop!' I wanted to scream this as I said it in my head, but I knew I couldn't. It was part of life's fun to not let me call for comfort or help.

_Danika walked towards the altar Rale was standing, a large steel knife in his hand. The altar itself was simply a stone table that had a bowl built into it. As she got closer, she noticed the strange symbols around the altar. She had been around the altar before, but had never figured out what they were. There were two symbols inside of one large one._

_The large one was of a large serpent who had its tail in its mouth, creating a circle. In the middle of this circle was a single runic letter, which I knew meant 'flow.' The other symbol was of a large helix surrounded by small spherical dots, the helix itself covered in strange creatures._

_Both of these where inside of a large symbol on the table that was at each corner of the bowl aligning with the corners of the table. The large symbol was simply a rather curvature '8' that had the small symbols in each loop that makes up the number. However, a long spear runs through the large symbol, hiding behind the smaller symbols inside._

_Stepping up beside Rale, he hands her the knide her had been holding, and she is surprised by its weight. She already knew what she had to do, but was still feeling the remnants of her earlier fear. What if it didn't accept her or something goes wrong? But she reflected on her families smile, and she turned to see Rale wink at her. Danika summoned up her courage and extended her hand, proceeding to draw a line with the blade across her open palm. She winces at it as she feels the slight sting and feels strange at seeing her own scarlet blood run across her hand. _

_She then raises her hand above the bowl, feeling comfort in seeing the other splashes of crimson left on the bowl from other witches and wizards like her. Squeezing her hand, she watches as a drop slowly falls into the bowl, spreading across the stone. _

_Feeling extremely relieved that nothing happened, she turns towards Rale to see him not moving at all. She peered at him strangely to see that his hands and feet were vibrating at alarming speeds, yet the rest of his body was perfectly still. She turned behind her to look for her parents when her heart dropped as she rose a hand over her mouth._

_Everyone present was just like Rale, frozen except for their extremities. She looked in horror as slowly people started to drop, their eyes lidding back into their heads as the life that use to be visible in them disappeared. She suddenly heard a voice behind speak, though it was choky and hoarse. _

"_Da-a-ni... st-st-o-op…" It was Rale, and it killed the girl to see master like this. She hugged him and started shrieking, not sure what to do. _

"_How? How do I? I don't know what I'm doing! Rale! Help!" His face was turning blue, and he slowly began to fall. _

"_It-ts yo-ur ma-gic… elec…elct…" He slowly began to fade, his non beating heart failing to produce oxygenized blood. "Electron… magic…" With that, the man perished, the last to survive within the entire village. Danika sobbed, hugging her teacher, her uncle, her friend._

_After a while, she searched through the non-breathing citizens of Lilycove until she found her family. Her younger brother and sister were clinging onto their mother on the ground whose body was splayed into an awkward position. Danika's father was simply lying down as if he was resting, except that his eyes were open. The usually shining and joyous orbs were now dull and lifeless, and it caused the young wizard to begin crying all over again._

_In that moment, the entire village of Lilycove ceased to breath, and it was in that moment that young Danika despaired into darkness._

When the images ended and I opened my eyes, I was lying on the floor next to my sink, my toothbrush crushed and splintered in my hand. I leaned myself forward, curling up into the fetal position as I rocked myself backwards and forwards slowly for about a minute.

I reached into the front of my jacket and pulled out a small seashell that I kept in the inside pocket of my top layer. I turned it over to see a picture of my family, all of us smiling together at the beach. I was 11 when this was taken. My father is standing there with no shirt on and a blue swimsuit, his arm around my mother whose silver one piece reflected in the sunlight. My brother had a red swimsuit on, and he had my sister on his back who was also wearing a silver one piece.

In the centre of the picture, I'm sitting there in the sand in a two-piece green swimsuit. I feel even more tears come to my face as I look at the smile that had been on my face. My blue eyes had this sparkle in them that I had never seen whenever I look into the mirror, and my hair was set up into these perfect pigtails that I would never be able to replicate. In my hands, is a seashell that seems rather large in my small hands.

I turn the shell I am holding back over, leaning my head against the hard crust and feeling the smooth sea washed grooves against my forehead. "You broke your promise mom."

**Sorry for the late update, took me longer than expected, plus a late OC. But thanks for reading!**

**-SillyCurse**


	5. Let's Go Meet Our Target!

Holy Grail

Chapter 5

Joseph

I gritted my teeth as I tried to calm myself. Christie put a hand on my shoulder in an attempt to try and soothe me, moderately succeeding. "Thank you anyway," I stated to the little blue demon in front of me. We had been asking around all day about our target, but the villagers denied ever meeting the girl we seek. The sun was beginning to fall, casting an orange haze around the island and giving everything this murky shadow.

At the moment I was exiting this little straw shack at the east-most corner of the village, talking to this short withered creature. It has these large stretched eyes which are red with dark brown hair. It was wearing an old tattered brown leather jacket with moccasins. Around his neck were these little blue and red beads that hung around a copper wire. We had just finished talking to the fellow, and he was obviously lying. His body visibly trembled as I asked him if any strange people were staying overnight.

"N-No one I-I K-Know." He had squeaked, small dribbles of moisture snaking down his forehead. I had tried to press him further, but his wife had objected. She was this medium height pink skinned lizard demon that had vertical eyes and a long forked tongue.

"We don't know Nuttin! Just leave us be you damn deviants!" That led to Christie being thoroughly offended, to which I had to pull her back to prevent her from strangling the little thing.

As we headed out of the shelter, I thought about what I had learned from the other villagers. It would seem that a small guild had been set up in the jungle north of the village, which was to help make sure that no more magical threats could attack the island. It made sense, seeing as not to long ago the demon of Zeref _Deliora _was almost revived here.

But some things didn't add up. One thing was that the guild had yet to speak with the villagers, something I felt was strange. If they had come to protect the island, why would they seclude themselves from the only other residents of the area? Also, why did they accept to come to this place in the first place? Fare across the water is expensive, and to travel away and then back is worth about a quarter of usual job money. Another thing is that the demons of Galuna can't pay the mages, for they don't use jewel at all.

There were just so many variables that didn't fit together, as well as the thing that was annoying me the most all day. The demon we had just met with was obviously lying, but he wasn't the only one. There was maybe two demons that we had talked to today that legitimately had no idea what we were talking about. Most of them knew something, but weren't letting on.

"Urgh, why do these people have to be so frustrating?" I said as I rubbed my temple roughly, caressing my forehead with my index and fore fingers. Christie seemed entertained by my internal conflictions, and opted to just lean her head on my shoulder as we walked.

"It's because they believe what they are doing is right." She stared at me pointedly as she stated this, and I simply sighed as more thoughts flashed through my head. I thought about certain lesson I had with my mother, when she was teaching me about the battle of X641.

"_-And then the light mage Jor ordered and all-out assault on the fortifications of Tumble Path. His army razed all settlements in there way, creating a history of death an ash for the people of Agon Canyon. When they finally arrived, they demolished the castle, salting the earth and incinerating the bodies so that nothing may be once more built on that cursed ground."_

"_It was in that battle that General Toa slew the mighty sorcerer Grool, and it was in the castles darkest keep that Jor executed the ringmaster of it all, the dark mage Karthus."_

_Mother stared at me in my seat, her unique eyes catching mine as she stared me down with a certain intensity that I never could muster. She weaved her way around the room, a cramped wooden class that had enough room for only three desks and a magi-board. _

"_So Joseph, tell me why and how Jor succeeded."_

_I just gave her a strange look, before saying "All I know is that he did it because Karthus and the Red Blade were terrorizing the people of western Ollerdon, an ancient civilization that rose and fell before the creation of Fiore."_

_My mother just clucked her tongue, that noise that always said 'you're so cute when you're stupid.'_ _It made me growl internally, for I knew that noise much too well. I hear it on a day-to-day basis. _

"_My silly, silly boy. You are looking at this equation to factually. To learn the answer to this question, you must first ask yourself, 'Would I have done the same?'" She strode over to my desk, firmly planting her outstretched hand onto the middle of the wood. "If you would, you then ask yourself why you would. Is it because you must? Are you obligated to? Those are the first answers that come to mind."_

"_Because they are true," I interjected. Mother, who had been in the middle of swaying through the room as she continued in her lengthy inquiry, just looked at me dazedly. "Jor was the highest commanding officer of the Olleran army after Commander Yesio died to the sorcerer Grool." I crossed my hands over my chest, sure that my point had been proven._

_But mother just waved it off. "Responsibility is just another rule. As you know very well Joseph," she came up to me again, leaning her head beside my ear. "I don't like following the rules." With a slight chuckle, she bounced back to the front of the quaint room, continuing her spiel from before. "If you do not agree with the argument of the person in question, you then must ask why you do not. Once you have figured that out, find a reason why someone would contradict that. That, my boy, is Jor's reason."_

_I was at a complete loss for words, so I simply did what she said. Jor was a maniac. He slew monsters, defeated evil wizards and toppled empires. And my mother is saying he's just doing that on a whim? Not possible. Not logical. _

"Hey you okay?" I leaped back in shock, earning a few stares from the little citizens lining the space around us.

"Yah, yah… I'm fine." Focus Jo, no time for slacking. We have a job to do. Serakei will have my head if I don't get this done. Christie kept giving me this odd look, but I shrugged it off. She's done weirder in front of me. Speak of the devil, there he is. His brown eyes were filled with supressed annoyance, and Demitri was skulking beside him. 'Wonder what got them so bitter.'

"Any luck?" I asked, my eyes scanning the buildings behind them. Demitri just growled out some gibberish, which I translated into a no. Serakei, whose mouth had been open to speak, just shrugged.

"Ain't much we can do tonight. If they don't speak up in the morning, I guess we'll just have to figure something out." Sighing heavily, I began to make my way towards the entrance of the village, already getting my pack off my back to ready my sleeping bag. When I was only a few steps past Demitri, I thrusted my hand in front of me, hitting a seemingly invisible object with a glowing gold fist.

Where my fist connected a small lash of energy expanded from the punch, blowing dust around me and making the hair on Serakei's head whip around. A couple yards away, a small poof of dirt being disturbed told me of the objects location. From that spot the air shimmered, before a large dark skinned man appeared. He appeared to be around Serakei's age, but had this air of maturity.

His face was contorted into a look of shock, probably perplexed at being struck when he believed himself unseen. "Boy," He said in a rumbling tone. "How did you do that?" I just lifted the corner of my mouth, a small smirk taking over my features.

"You weren't very sneaky about your spying." He seemed dumbfounded, before a hard look overtook him. He rose from his spot on the ground and made his way back over to us. Now that he was close and I could properly analyse him, his features were odd for the area. He was very dark skinned, so much so that I would think he was from the Inuit tribes to the east of Fiore's boundaries. He had jade eyes and shoulder length hazel cornrows. He was wearing a topaz jacket with white pants and green sneakers. He was Demitri's height, and now that he was close up I won't lie when I say I was a little intimidated.

He ingored me however, brushing by me as he approached Serakei. "I have information that you may find appealing," He said in a somewhat hesitant tone. I narrowed my eyes, an action that most of the team was mimicking. Seeing our look of doubt, the man tipped his head forward. "Let me introduce myself. I am Kristoff Roth, son of Haymind Roth, chieftain of the Brulu tribe to the North of Fiore. Master Mako has given me the task of assisting you in finding those you seek."

Christie and I shared a look, apprehension in both of our eyes, but Serakei laughed rather loudly. "Well why didn't you just come out and say so? Come on big guy, let's go find us a place to drink." Demitri looked appalled at the idea, for which I don't blame him. He is the least trusting of us, not very open to sparking new friendships. He also doesn't take his booze very well, so he refrains from it, something that Serakei always mocks him for.

"You must be joking," he growled out, sending a glare at Kristoff, who visibly gulped. They may be equals in height and stature, but when Demitri tries he can scare the shit out of anyone. Well, except for Serakei, who just grinned at the Take-Over mage.

"And why on earth would I joke about a good time? Let us drink and make merry my good friend, and then you may reveal this information to us." Demitri looked like he was going to strangle the Psychokinetic, when Kristoff interrupted them.

"As fun as that may sound, the things I must tell you must be delivered with urgency. Trouble is at our door, and soon Lucian will unleash it." This got our attention, wiping the smile off of Serakei's face, and the glare from Demitri. "We must away to my house, were you will meet someone of interest." With that said, he began marching off in the direction myself and Christie just came from. The four of us all looked at each other, speaking with our looks rather than our words. With a quick nod from all of us, we headed off behind the wind mage, who was walking down the road at a rather quick pace.

We finally arrived at the last house we had visited earlier, to see Killian wave his hand. Suddenly, another straw tipi appeared out of thin air, making my eyes narrow. Why would this mage need to hide his home? He opened the leather flap to the building, Demitri taking the lead as we all entered. Just as I took up the rear I heard something rush through the air, and the sudden sound of metal clanging against something.

I hurried forward to see a strange seen. Serakei had been thrown backwards towards the back of the room, obviously taken by surprise by an unknown assailant. Christie was pinning down a girl wearing a blue dress with matching shoes and skirt to my right, with Kristoff holding her back from actually attacking her. Right in front of me, a man wearing rather formal attire of red button up shirt, black cargo shorts and sneakers, had locked his katana with Demitri, whose arm had taken the form of a large scaly claw.

Realizing things were out of control, I began channeling my own magic. My hands turned gold once more, and I thrust them upon the ground.

"_Kings Tribune; Detain!"_

Everyone was thrust to a different corner of the room, restrained by steel chains. The members of my team just glared at me, but the girl in the dress was flailing her arms around trying to break free. The man who had previously been wielding the katana was straining against the chains, before he began muttering something.

"_Iron Bend; Molten Lead!"_

He smirked in triumph as the chains began to glow a fiery red. The look was wiped off his face however when the chains just stayed this way, cries of pain coming out as the steel burned his skin. The girl shrieked in horror.

"Please stop! Please! He'll die!" Usually, I would have kept him there longer, especially since he attacked a friend. But the pain in her voice sparked another memory in my mind.

_Darkness surrounded me. I couldn't see, but my other senses had gone on overdrive. I could smell the cold musk of the room, could feel the sharp stone floor beneath me, and could hear the sounds of glee coming from the people around me._

"_Tie 'im up boys!"  
>"Aye aye, sir!"<em>

_I was lifted off of my knees and strapped onto some kind of wooden board. It was wet, and whatever liquid was on it smelled metallic. Even though I couldn't see, I could sense a vast array of metal instruments around me. I didn't realize the danger they posed until a small sawl began running bloody lines up and down my arms. Not deep enough to bleed profusely, but enough to cause dribbles of red to paint my arms. I screamed in pain and terror, begging whatever god they may be to help me. Laughing surrounded me as my torturers began increasing the speed and depth of the saw. I suddenly heard a voice I recognized, and despaired at the though of her being here too._

"_Stop it! Please, stop it! You'll kill him! STOP!"_

The man fell to the ground as I released him from the chains, which I soon did to the others. The girl immediately ran towards her friend, hugging him tightly as she muttered soothing words in his ears.

_I looked on at the remains of my enemy. The torturer had made the mistake of forgetting to restrain my magic. My anger, my terror, and my pain had exploded in a shower of gold, and this was the result of it._

_Nothing remained but a bloody mess of skin and bones. In the corner of the cell, the same one in which I had been tortured in for hours, lay one of his hands. Betwixt his mutilated fingers lay one of his weapons of torture, a curved sickle. Just looking at it made me reach for the temple of my forehead, the scars still present from the lacerations I received from that evil weapon. _

_I leaned my head against the ground, shuddering as I looked at the result of my own magic. I didn't want to kill him. I just wanted him to go away. I just wanted all of them to go away. I suddenly felt a pair of arms warp around me, and I leaned back into them. 'What are we gonna do?' _

'_I don't know Jo, but we'll figure something out. It will all be fine.'_

"What is your name?" The girl looked at me, fear evident in her eyes. She hesitated, clinging to the other boy as If her life depended on it. I took a step forward, bringing myself down to a crouch to match her height. She scampered backwards, hauling the boy with her. She raised her arm, a green glow forming around her fingers.

"Stay back, you. I will attack!" Her voice was weak and strained, so I just ignored this, slowly approaching her like I did before. Everyone was watching me now, waiting to see if the girl would fire. I took another couple of steps, before reaching out and holding the girls hand. She seemed shocked, the green glow which had been growing instantly dissipating. Before she could do anything else, I brought my other hand around and grasped her hand further, binging it down to her side.

"What's your name?" She looked into my eyes, and it was only now that I realized she was truly quite pretty. The girl in front of me seemed terrified, but also strangely comforted. She started stuttering, her distrust of us still evident.

"Jessica." I just continued looking at her, waiting for her to elaborate. She sighed heavily, but didn't push me back. "Jessica Fairweather." The others smiled, glad that we had found the target. I had already known due to the fact that Mako had previously said her name was Jessica, but I wanted the rest of my team to have clarification. Before anything could happen, the boy whom I had thought was passed out leaped towards me,his arm transformed into an iron harpoon. Instinctively I raised my hands, and before I could stop myself, said;

"_Kings Will; Begone!"_

In a flash of gold, he was blown through the roof of the tipi, causing Jessica to go into hysterics. She snarled at me, pushing me off as I was distracted, and raced out the entrance of the tipi. Killian looked thoroughly perplexed, but Demitri was glaring at him hard.

"You set us up you filth!" Kristoff's face contorted in anger, before he steeled himself and looked at Serakei.

"You will want to catch up with the girl." Serakei nodded, staring pointedly at me. I sighed, before heading towards the exit.

"You two better find the boy, he's the danger we should be worried about." The wind mage looked stunned, probably confused as to how I knew. Before anyone could say anything else I headed out the flap of the tipi, pushing my way through the array of demons who had come to see what had happened. Before I had made it ten steps, I heard the flap open again to see Christie racing out to catch up with me.

"Serekei?" I asked once she caught up. She just threw her head back and laughed, a sound that when genuine could forever make me smile.

"You know it! Plus, You couldn't get anywhere without me." I just snorted, throwing an arm around her as we hurried around the village looking for Jessica.

"You are so annoying sometimes." She looked me pointedly in the eyes, before coming forward and kissing me. I let myself sink into it for a couple seconds, before pulling back and leaning my forehead against hers. She smiled, her breath tickling my lips.

"That's why you love me!" Upon stating this, she rushed ahead, raising dust behind her. I chuckled, racing after her.

'I sure do.'

**Hey guys, SillyCurse here. Boy have I had a rough couple of weeks. But you don't want to here about that. Tell me whatchu like, and to all of you who sent in an OC, they will appear next chapter. All of the chappies at the guild will be when I introduce OC's. Anyway, the reason I uploaded so slowly is long and ridiculous, but if you want to know I'll try to shortly summerize it. First, I went on a small Vacation to visit my family in Toronto, so I was gone for alike three days there. I don't own a laptop, so I couldn't carry my work with me, so I was gonna post my finished chapter the day I got back. I return to the house I'm sharing with my friends, and we got fucking robbed. Kill me now. All of the pre-written chapters I had down the drain, plus some of my school work. So I finally get a new comp, a pretty nice laptop, when my website, which is what my email is connected to, gets hacked. I can't go on Fanfic, so I ended up hacking the guy who hacked me and destroying all of his files so that he couldn't just transfer my info to another comp. In the end, I finally got this account up again. Phew. Anyway, hope you like!**

**SillyCurse. **


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